Reduced port stays

[Robjame]

1 hour ago, LHT28 said:

Are you on Riviera now

Yes we are until the end of the month

[LHT28]

1 minute ago, Robjame said:

Yes we are until the end of the month

Yes I knew you were but wan not sure  about Sofie

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

On 1/23/2023 at 8:58 PM, Travrat said:

They can’t raise the cruise fare for those who have already booked so they are screwing us this way. I won’t book HAL for nickel and diming guests but Oceania has found a way to do the same by hiding behind a claim that they are helping the environment. Not buying their nonsense and not happy that I am losing time in the ports. 

 

On 1/23/2023 at 8:56 PM, Wasasalad said:

I’m mostly a Holland America fan! I decided to try Oceania because of the longer port times! I’m loosing an hour at every port! That’s seven hours! 
I do like the smaller ship but considering the price and the shortened port time I’m saying goodbye!

Sorry, I thought you said you were reconsidering your booking. But I think it was someone else who said that.  But I'll leave my response on your post as is.  Maybe it will give you or others a feel for what the ports are like, and what time is needed to visit them. 

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

On 1/23/2023 at 8:44 PM, Wasasalad said:

Same here! I chose this cruise because of the long port days! Looks like I will cancel and go to another line for 1/5 the price!

To me the ship is a taxi! I’m on to see ports!

It's probably best to choose another cruise line.

[SophieM]

53 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

Are you on Riviera now?

 

Yes

[ak1004]

On 1/23/2023 at 8:44 PM, Wasasalad said:

Same here! I chose this cruise because of the long port days! Looks like I will cancel and go to another line for 1/5 the price!

To me the ship is a taxi! I’m on to see ports!

 

I'm curious which line has 1/5 the price and longer port times?

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

2 hours ago, Mariastreby said:

We are Viking “people”, but are looking forward to our first O cruise on the Riviera to the eastern/southern Caribbean in March. Yup, we’ve had several port time changes too, and hope that one of our affected excursions won’t be shortened terribly, with the same cost.
 

But I am a bit perplexed - so many of you seem convinced that Oceania has usually had more port time than other lines, other than Azamara. Sorry, but I haven’t noticed anything longer than most of the posted port times on similar V itineraries. Couldn’t tell you about other lines, because I haven’t looked. But I think V and O appeal to a very similar demographic, that’s why I’m referring to them. And why we are trying Oceania soon!

Honestly, I've never compared times much on any line.  I only cruise on Oceania (maybe 2 out of 3 trips) and Viking the rest.  So I barely look outside of those lines if I can't find a fabulous itinerary.   Oceania goes almost everywhere in the world.  And Viking has never disappointed me.  But with Viking, it's rare that you see the port times early in the process, so who knows when I'll be in a port?  And with sea conditions variable, who knows if I'll actually be in port the times any cruise line thinks I'll be in port?  

 

But I think (and hope) you'll like Oceania.  Since you cruised on Viking, you no doubt know that some things can't be quantified.  And if you've cruised a lot, you know things aren't always written in stone. So all I can say to those who are considering ditching Oceania is good luck in finding that perfect cruise line!  It may be out there, but as a somewhat budget cruiser (booking lowly rooms on O) I may not be able to afford it if someone actually does find it! 

Edited January 25, 2023 by IWantToLiveOverTheSea

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

On 1/24/2023 at 11:49 AM, ak1004 said:

 

Interesting. Our cruise from Barcelona to London docks in Le Verdon, but the next one docks in Bordeaux. Same ship (Riviera). Go figure..

 

I "watched" a number of ships this summer/fall on Marine Traffic go to Bordeaux, including an Azamara ship, both Marina (larger) and Sirena (small) plus several others whose names I've forgotten.  Some stop in Le Verdon due to the tide situation (very strong/fluctuating in that area, where ocean meets estuary of a river in Le Verdon and three rivers which merge farther up (down?) in France. Ships must stop there if tides aren't favorable. Ours is scheduled to stop in Le Verdon 8 - 11 & then cruise to Bordeaux  11-4. Oceania is offering excursions starting from Le Verdon & ending in Bordeaux.   At least one ship didn't stop in Le Verdon, but they may have done the Bordeaux trip in the middle of the night due to the tides.  I just don't remember.  But in any case, you must go when the tides are willing, both in towards Bordeaux and (I assume) out.  We're scheduled to arrive Bordeaux around 4 PM on on the first day and leave at 5 PM the next day. 

 

But I hear larger ships often dock in Le Verdon and bus their passengers to Bordeaux (i.e., they can't go further.  And some large ships dock in La Rochelle. 

 

For the May 29 trip referenced above, I'm thinking the ship may do what ours is doing - stop in Le Verdon, but then travel to Bordeaux and back.  But I really don't know.  From the first time I saw the itinerary for ours, it clearly reflected the times and dates for everything.  So the May 29 cruise may be different.

 

 

I understand the smaller O ships now can cruise most of the way on the river to Seville, while others (like us) still port in Cadiz.

[bob brown]

On 1/24/2023 at 2:24 PM, Psoque said:

The reduction of time in port has nothing to do with the politics or passenger safety.  And there are other (more effective) ways to reduce the environmental impact of cruising than just cutting an hour of port stays per day.  However, we all know that reduction in port stays results in monetary savings for Oceania.  The whole “explanation” Oceania gave us about the reason for shortened port stays are inaccurate, disingenuous, and deceptive.

 

And the whole ranting about the environment in the e-mail actually backfired on Oceania.  Now we are convinced that Oceania is not really serious about the environment.  It just uses that to (poorly) justify cuts in favor of the bottom line.

 

It would have been much better for Oceania to say that they are reducing port times as a cost-saving measure, and follow that with a sincere apology to those affected by these changes.

I am speaking more about skipping certain ports due to unsafe weather conditions or civil unrest, or high crimes in certain ports.

But cutting port hours can also be account of civil speed limits imposed in places like the Gulf of St. Lawrence, to protect whales, resulting in the need for more time to reach the next port…

[sofietucker]

2 hours ago, bob brown said:

I am speaking more about skipping certain ports due to unsafe weather conditions or civil unrest, or high crimes in certain ports.

But cutting port hours can also be account of civil speed limits imposed in places like the Gulf of St. Lawrence, to protect whales, resulting in the need for more time to reach the next port…

We had that in Sept--the speed issue in the Gulf of St Lawrence due to the right whales. Beginning to think that, unlike how it was presented to us (suddenly,  the evening before that day), it's standard procedure for that area. Why they (all the cruise lines) don't simply adjust entry times into Quebec City to accommodate the delay, I don't know.

[ruthnlarry]

On 1/23/2023 at 11:05 PM, susiesan said:

 

 

The letter says that shore excursion operations will not be impacted, it does not say anything about hours. O will still run their excursions, they will just be shorter and the price will be the same.

We are currently on Nautica sailing from Capetown to Mumbai, and received notification of revised times only a couple weeks before sailing.

We only book private excursions, and they would have been greatly impacted by Oceania’s changes since they affected tender ports.  1 of these ports didn’t matter because it was canceled due to a tropical depression.  This is understandable.

Tomorrow, we are scheduled for Madagascar.  This is a port that Oceania changed the arrival time to 1 hour later.  It is also a tender port.  Given Oceania’s policy of giving priority tendering to passengers booking their excursions, we do not know when we will be able to get ashore to see the lemurs with our private guide.  Viewing the lemurs in the wild was a high priority and reason for booking this cruise.  We already had limited tIme in Madagascar before Oceania’s revision.  Now, we will only have a couple of hours.  Hopefully, everything will work out.  
This is our 19th O cruise, and we are not happy with O’s new policy!

[MEFIowa]

22 hours ago, sofietucker said:

Pretty weird about Belize. We've been there many times on different ships, and have always tendered. They weigh anchor pretty far out from shore too, due to the reefs. I can't imagine that Riviera could squeeze through to dock at the pier (we were on her last year).

Yep, we tendered off Riviera in Belize City in December 2021. (Docked in Cozumel, Costa Maya, Roatan, and Santo Thomas (Guatemala).)

[sofietucker]

6 minutes ago, MEFIowa said:

Yep, we tendered off Riviera in Belize City in December 2021. (Docked in Cozumel, Costa Maya, Roatan, and Santo Thomas (Guatemala).)

We may have been on your cruise!

[MEFIowa]

13 minutes ago, sofietucker said:

We may have been on your cruise!

W. Caribbean 12/13-23/2021 on Riviera. We were supposed to tender at the NCL private island in the Bahamas, Great Stirrup Cay, but it was cancelled due to high seas.

[sofietucker]

6 minutes ago, MEFIowa said:

W. Caribbean 12/13-23/2021 on Riviera. We were supposed to tender at the NCL private island in the Bahamas, Great Stirrup Cay, but it was cancelled due to high seas.

Yes! Super windy day. Santo Tomas was new to us and a disappointment... (Our fab insurance gave us $100 each for the missed port, btw...)

[MEFIowa]

5 minutes ago, sofietucker said:

... Santo Tomas was new to us and a disappointment... 

We did a Go With Gus tour of the Rio Dulce and Livingston, that was AMAZING. Took their small boat up the river (fantastic views of the forests towering over us) to the hot springs, cave and to the Mayan community over and around the water. Then back to Livingston for walking tour. A city that has no road or rail connection. Historically a place slaves escaped to from the E. Caribbean.

[sofietucker]

15 minutes ago, MEFIowa said:

We did a Go With Gus tour of the Rio Dulce and Livingston, that was AMAZING. Took their small boat up the river (fantastic views of the forests towering over us) to the hot springs, cave and to the Mayan community over and around the water. Then back to Livingston for walking tour. A city that has no road or rail connection. Historically a place slaves escaped to from the E. Caribbean.

Wow, that does sound amazing!

[greenbeanie]

Interesting article, provides some interesting facts.

 

https://cruisewestcoast.com/cruise-ships/what-is-shore-power.html

 

A couple of snippets from the article:

 

At ports in California, it is required that ships "at berth" reduce their emissions by connecting to the electrica grid through shore power / cold-ironing / AMP, or an alternative emissions control device installed on the ship. This applies to cruise ships but also container ships and tankers too, making California one of the most progressive in the United States in seeking to reduce air pollution caused by ships.

 

 

How Much Do Cruise Ships Pollute The Air?

The amount of particulate emitted by cruise ships is absolutely stunning. For instance, a mid-sized crusie ship can consume as much as 150 tons of fuel each day while in motion and emit an equivalent to 1 MILLION cars.  

There are several reasons for this shocking figure:

1) Cruise ships operate their engines all day long. 

2) Cruise ships use low-grade fuel that is less refined than what you use in your car or truck

3) Even when not in motion, cruise ship engines generate electricity used by the entire vessel. They are in fact a power plant for a small city that may include 5,000-10,000 people!

Even while docked and the engines are idle, cruise ship engines are still consuming fuel and emitting nitrous oxide and hazardous particulate into the air. The amount varies from ship to ship and the exact fuel used, but the amount emitted is comparible to the diesel exhaust of 34,400 idling tarctor trailers.

 

 (Click on the link "emitted is comparable" for a deep dive into the physics of the matter.) 

Edited January 26, 2023 by greenbeanie

[SophieM]

10 hours ago, ruthnlarry said:

We are currently on Nautica sailing from Capetown to Mumbai, and received notification of revised times only a couple weeks before sailing.

We only book private excursions, and they would have been greatly impacted by Oceania’s changes since they affected tender ports.  1 of these ports didn’t matter because it was canceled due to a tropical depression.  This is understandable.

Tomorrow, we are scheduled for Madagascar.  This is a port that Oceania changed the arrival time to 1 hour later.  It is also a tender port.  Given Oceania’s policy of giving priority tendering to passengers booking their excursions, we do not know when we will be able to get ashore to see the lemurs with our private guide.  Viewing the lemurs in the wild was a high priority and reason for booking this cruise.  We already had limited tIme in Madagascar before Oceania’s revision.  Now, we will only have a couple of hours.  Hopefully, everything will work out.  
This is our 19th O cruise, and we are not happy with O’s new policy!

Hi, Guys!!

We are currently back on the Riviera after having second thoughts and canceling our Mumbai to Singapore. We hope you’ll be able to make your lemur tour and hope to sail with you again one of these days.

 

Jane & Ed

[sofietucker]

6 hours ago, greenbeanie said:

(SNIP)

How Much Do Cruise Ships Pollute The Air?

The amount of particulate emitted by cruise ships is absolutely stunning. For instance, a mid-sized crusie ship can consume as much as 150 tons of fuel each day while in motion and emit an equivalent to 1 MILLION cars.  

There are several reasons for this shocking figure:

1) Cruise ships operate their engines all day long. 

2) Cruise ships use low-grade fuel that is less refined than what you use in your car or truck

3) Even when not in motion, cruise ship engines generate electricity used by the entire vessel. They are in fact a power plant for a small city that may include 5,000-10,000 people!

Even while docked and the engines are idle, cruise ship engines are still consuming fuel and emitting nitrous oxide and hazardous particulate into the air. The amount varies from ship to ship and the exact fuel used, but the amount emitted is comparible to the diesel exhaust of 34,400 idling tarctor trailers.

(SNIP)

Somewhere in lower Caribbean a few years ago, from our aft balcony on a HAL ship, we witnessed a burp from our smokestack leave a huge green cloud that hung in the air behind us,  throughout sunset and beyond. Have also seen billowing smoke issuing at night many times. 

[ruthnlarry]

On 1/26/2023 at 4:08 PM, SophieM said:

Hi, Guys!!

We are currently back on the Riviera after having second thoughts and canceling our Mumbai to Singapore. We hope you’ll be able to make your lemur tour and hope to sail with you again one of these days.

 

Jane & Ed

We were able to get on the 2nd tender.  Saw lemurs in the wild!

 

[ak1004]

Here are two itineraries, one Oceania, one SS. Guess which one is which. Sails the same month.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 28, 2023 by ak1004

[janecambridge]

First one (May 1st) is Oceania? 

[ak1004]

3 hours ago, janecambridge said:

First one (May 1st) is Oceania? 

Yes! And those are the original times, not reduced yet.

[susiesan]

48 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

Yes! And those are the original times, not reduced yet.

Yes, but what is the price difference? What is the cheapest fare on each line for a cabin wit ha window?